Chapter 2739: Divine-Level Grandmaster
"It's the Yama Clan's Zhe Xian Heavenly Grandmaster."
"Truly, when a wall is about to fall, everyone gives it a push. Heavenly Grandmaster Zhe Xian must be using this matter to completely sever ties with Zhang Ruochen. This is going to be interesting!"
"If the Yama Clan completely abandons Zhang Ruochen, he will have no choice but to live under the wings of the Blood Absolute War God for the rest of his life. How pathetic, like a silkworm trapped in its cocoon, dying before it can break free."
…
Yan Zhe Xian's voice carried extremely far, drawing the attention of cultivators from all clans present in the Three-Life Realm.
This matter was of great significance.
Many cultivators wanted to get firsthand information, and even more wanted to see Zhang Ruochen lose his standing.
Some cultivators, jealous of Zhang Ruochen, could not help but chant: "I saw him build his lofty tower, I saw him feast his guests, I saw all his world-shaking spirit—and now I see his tower collapse! Haha!"
The more outstanding a person was, the more others wanted to see them fall from grace.
Yan Zhe Xian came alone, her body shimmering with radiant light, ethereal and otherworldly. Yet no one could clearly see her features, like a spiritual mountain shrouded in mist, a clear lake locked in haze—a celestial charm that was both alluring and unattainable.
Although the world knew she had a past with Zhang Ruochen and had even borne him a daughter, this mysterious and noble demeanor still stirred longing in countless cultivators.
She had not yet begun to count.
A corner of the defensive formation around the residence opened up.
Blood Butcher walked out, his burly frame carrying a familiar smile as he bowed and said, "Greetings, Senior Sister-in-Law. It's been a while."
"Who is your senior sister-in-law? Don't put on that grinning face in front of me. Where is Zhang Ruochen? Tell him to come out and see me," Yan Zhe Xian said coldly and mercilessly, though her voice was remarkably clear and beautiful.
Blood Butcher was no ordinary figure. He stood at the pinnacle of the mortal world. Even if she was a direct noble of the Yama Clan, so what?
I give you a smile, and you respond with cold words—that's a slap in the face.
If you don't show me respect, why should I show you any?
Blood Butcher's face darkened, and he spoke rather rudely, "My senior brother is the mortal world's myth. It has always been others who come to pay their respects to him, not the other way around. What right do you have to demand he come out to see you?"
"Fine! Then I'll go in and pay my respects to him. Let's see if he can withstand my bow."
A flash of illusory light.
A three-foot talisman brush appeared in Yan Zhe Xian's hand. She swept her long sleeve and drew a stroke in the air.
A mysterious talisman pattern emerged at the tip of the brush, transforming into an arc of light that sliced toward Blood Butcher with sharp momentum.
At first, Blood Butcher did not take Yan Zhe Xian seriously.
But as soon as the talisman pattern formed, it created a domain force, drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth toward it.
"This is… you…"
Blood Butcher was greatly shocked. He bent his knees and lowered his body, forming a mysterious hand seal with both hands.
From the seal, a phoenix phantom emerged, erupting with blinding divine light. The cultivators watching from afar screamed in agony as blood dripped from their eyes—nine out of ten were blinded.
"Boom."
The talisman pattern shattered the phoenix phantom and struck Blood Butcher.
His burly body flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into the defensive formation's light barrier behind him.
Fortunately, the area around Zhang Ruochen's residence was inscribed with Great Saint runes and divine patterns. Otherwise, the clash between the two would have caused catastrophic destruction to the surrounding life.
Even so, cracks spread across the ground, and plants turned to ash.
Everything was in ruins.
Yan Zhe Xian launched a second attack. The talisman pattern was even more exquisite, as she tried to forcefully break through the defensive formation.
This talisman pattern transformed into a thunderous sphere about ten feet in diameter, hovering above the residence. Every bolt of lightning it released fell like a divine sword.
As Blood Butcher was knocked back, cultivators from various clans in the Hell Realm exclaimed in shock.
"A Heavenly Grandmaster with sixty-ninth-level spiritual power cannot be a match for Divine Son Blood Butcher."
"No, she's a god. Heavenly Grandmaster Zhe Xian must already be a spiritual god. Only a spiritual god could possess such terrifying power."
"A talisman path grandmaster who became a god through spiritual power? No wonder I felt like the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing when the talisman was formed. It felt like my soul was being sucked away."
"Since Heavenly Grandmaster Zhe Xian has already become a god, even if Zhang Ruochen is the mortal world's myth, he can only bow his proud head."
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The explosions were incessant.
The formation around this residence had been set up by Zhang Ruochen and Night Traveler Grandmaster, incorporating spatial power. That was why, even with Yan Zhe Xian attacking with the might of a god and the means of a grandmaster, she could not break through the formation quickly.
"Whoosh!"
From within the residence, a sword light shot into the sky, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, striking the thunderous sphere formed by the Heavenly Grandmaster's talisman pattern.
Space trembled violently.
The talisman pattern shattered, and the thunder sphere exploded, turning into countless tiny bolts of lightning that scattered like a celestial maiden scattering flowers toward the onlooking cultivators.
Another round of screams erupted.
One must understand that this was the power of a god.
Even residual force was more than ordinary Great Saints could withstand.
They realized this was Zhang Ruochen's warning and quickly fled far away. At the same time, they understood that the mortal world's myth was not to be offended—at least, not by them.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the residence, recalling the Abyssal Ancient Sword that flew back from the sky, and looked at Yan Zhe Xian, who stood opposite him like an exiled immortal, beautiful and ethereal. He smiled and said, "Miss Zhe Xian, it's been a while. When old friends meet, why must there be such a fierce conflict?"
As Zhang Ruochen stepped out, the shattered ground began to reform.
The plants that had turned to ash grew back from the soil, their leaves like emerald and flowers like jade carvings, brimming with sacred energy as life was restored.
"Miss?"
Yan Zhe Xian toyed with the talisman brush in her hand and said, "Can't you see that I am now a god? Spare me the pleasantries. Where is Ying'er?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced into the distance and said, "Since Miss Zhe Xian has already reached the divine realm, you should have the bearing of a god. Discussing such domestic matters here, and even coming to blows over a disagreement—aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
Yan Zhe Xian was naturally not afraid of being laughed at by anyone.
After all, her affairs with Zhang Ruochen had been the laughingstock of the world for a thousand years.
"Please, come in," Zhang Ruochen said.
Yan Zhe Xian eventually reined in her emotions and followed Zhang Ruochen into the residence.
Blood Butcher picked himself up from the ground. Though he was not injured, he was covered in dust. He said, "Senior brother is still senior brother. That Yan Zhe Xian looks down on everyone in the Hell Realm, and now that she has become a god through spiritual power, her princess temper is probably even worse. But when she meets senior brother, it seems she can't muster any temper at all."
Blood Butcher was not as shortsighted as other cultivators. He did not believe for a moment that someone as monstrously strong as Zhang Ruochen would fail to overcome the divine tribulation.
So, despite all the rumors spreading outside, Blood Butcher did not dare to think lightly of Zhang Ruochen.
Of course, the main reason was that he still could not beat Zhang Ruochen.
Entering the residence, Zhang Ruochen said, "The rules of the Three-Life Realm prohibit battles between cultivators above the Saint realm."
"Violators will be fined sacred stones for minor offenses."
"For serious offenses, they will be executed."
"Gods face even harsher penalties."
Yan Zhe Xian erupted with divine might. Divine patterns spread beneath her feet, causing the ground to sink as she spoke with a threatening tone, "May I ask, Great Saint Ruochen, how do you plan to punish this god?"
Zhang Ruochen was unafraid of her divine might. "Although you attacked earlier, you caused no substantial damage. A fine of one thousand divine stones will suffice."
Like Night Traveler Grandmaster, Yan Zhe Xian's spiritual power was at the early stage of the seventieth level.
However, as a talisman path grandmaster, her combat power far surpassed that of Night Traveler Grandmaster.
Yan Zhe Xian's tone was cold. "I dare to give them. Do you dare to take them?"
"Of course I dare. Since the rules are set, no one can change them," Zhang Ruochen said with an official air, making Blood Butcher and Qi Sheng, who stood in the distance, feel uneasy.
Yan Zhe Xian bit her delicate lip, her beautiful eyes glaring at Zhang Ruochen for a long time before she said, "This god is not lacking in divine stones. If you have the ability, come and take them yourself."
With that, she released her spiritual power to scan the entire residence.
"There's no need to search. Ying'er and Kong Le have gone to the Starry Sky Battlefield. They are not in the Three-Life Realm," Zhang Ruochen said.
"What did you say?"
Yan Zhe Xian could no longer suppress the anger in her heart. She walked up to Zhang Ruochen, her gaze like lightning. "The Starry Sky Battlefield is extremely dangerous. How could you let her go there alone?"
"She is not alone. Her elder sister is with her."
Zhang Ruochen remained calm, looking closely at her eyes, which seemed fierce and cold but actually held no killing intent.
Blood Butcher tugged at Qi Sheng's sleeve, signaling for them to leave quickly.
"If anything happens to Ying'er, you will bear full responsibility."
Yan Zhe Xian turned to leave.
Zhang Ruochen watched her retreating figure and said, "Ying'er has been with me in the Three-Life Realm for three years, yet you only now come to find her. As a mother, you are hardly qualified. From now on, she will stay with me."
Hearing this, Yan Zhe Xian, who had been about to rush to the Starry Sky Battlefield, turned around and said, "Don't even think about it! Don't forget, Ying'er is not your daughter."
Zhang Ruochen said, "She carries my bloodline. Why is she not my daughter?"
"I said she is not, so she is not," Yan Zhe Xian said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Unfortunately, what you say doesn't matter. The world, including Ying'er herself, knows that I am her father. If you tell her she has no father, that would only hurt her."
Yan Zhe Xian frowned but did not argue further.
Zhang Ruochen's tone turned colder as he questioned, "Back then, you knew exactly what happened. Why did you fabricate the lie that I wanted to kill her while she was still in the womb? Have you ever considered my feelings? Have you considered hers?"
Yan Zhe Xian felt guilty and lacked confidence. "Back then… you did want to kill her…"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I don't want to argue with you about this. Another matter: your Yama Clan deliberately concealed Ying'er's true origins and made me take the blame as her father. I can accept that."
"But why did you also saddle me with the crime of being heartless and unfaithful, of abandoning her?"
Yan Zhe Xian dared not meet Zhang Ruochen's aggressive eyes. She looked at the spiritual flowers and sacred plants nearby and muttered softly, "Who told you to suddenly disappear for a thousand years?"
"What did you say? Look me in the eyes," Zhang Ruochen shouted.
Yan Zhe Xian glared back, speaking with righteous indignation. "When Ying'er was little, she kept asking: Who is her father? What kind of person is her father? Why didn't her father marry me? At first, I could brush it off."
"But you know, almost everyone in the Hell Realm knows about what happened between us. As Ying'er grew up, she learned some things. I couldn't hide it forever."
"What was I supposed to do? Making up lies is exhausting."
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for suddenly disappearing for a thousand years."
"For a thousand years, I poured so much effort into Ying'er. She has finally achieved what she has today, and you want to take her away? I will fight you to the bitter end."
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his chin, puzzled. "You still haven't answered my question: Why did it take you three years to come looking for her?"